Risk factors for addiction Flashcards
How many risk factors are there for addiction
5
What are the risk factors for addiction
- genetic vunerability
- stress
- personality
- family influences
- peers
define genetic vunerabilty as a risk factor
Any inherited predisposition that increases the risk of a disorder or condition
Explain genetic vunerability as a risk factor for addiction
Their are 2 plausible mechanisms that create genetic vunerability
1. the D2 receptor - where dopamine transmittion is affected by the number of dopamine receptors you have, and this number is genetically controlled. There are different types of dopamine receptors including the D2. People who become addicted have an abnormally low number of D2 receptors which means less dopamine activity - so the addiction could be a way of compensating for this deficiency.
2. The Nicotine enzyme CYP2A6 - some individuals are able to metabolise certain substances, and this is linked to addiction. Expression of this enzyme is genetically determined
Give some research to support the Nicotine enzyme CYP2A6 explanation of genetic vunerability as a risk factor for addiction
Pianezza et al 1998:
found that some people lack a fully functioning CYP2A6 enzyme which metabolises nicotine. These people also smoked significantly less than smokers with the fully functioning version.
Give research to support genetic vunerability as a risk factor fo addiction
Not Pianezza
Kendler et al 2012:
used data from the national swedish adoption study.
They looked at adults who had been adopted away, as children, from biological families in which at least one parent had an addiction.
These children later had a significantly greater risk of developing an addiction themselves, compared with adopted away individuals with no addicted parents in their biological families.
Evaluate genetic vunerability as a risk factor for addiction
W - reductionist - ignores the environment
W - No concordance rates in twin studies have ever shown 100% concordance, so there is a genetic predisposition but this does not mean a genetic cause.
S - Supporting evidence from Kendler et al 2012, and Pianezza et al 1998
define stress as a risk factor of addiction
Stressful life events and traumatic experiences in childhood and adulthood are important risk factors for addiction.
Give human research to support stress as a risk factor for addiction
Andersen and Teicher 2008:
- Highlighted the role of adverse childhood experiences in later addiction.
- They argue that early experiences of severe stress have damaging effects on a young brain in a sensitive period of development.
- This creates greater vunerability to later stress.
- Further stressful experiences triggers the early vunerability and make it more likely that the person will self-medicate with addictions.
Give human research to support stress as a risk factor for addiction
Piazza 1989:
- tested rats for vulnerability to addiction through stress.
- They stressed the rats by pinching their tails.
- They found that rats were more likely to seek out and ingest amphetamines the more stressed that they got.
Evaluate stress as a risk factor for addiction
- W - difficult to establish cause and effect. Addiction could cause high stress levels as opposed to the other way around.
- W - Stress research is often conducted on animals due to ethical issues. Therefore, the stress levels induced in the animals is not actually know. The research can therefore lack validity
- S - Stress can be linked with biological explanations of addiction such as changes in neurotransmitter levels and changes to brain structure development. It can therefore start to form a more holistic account of risk factors for stress.
define personalilty as a risk factor for addiction
Various traits can increase an individual’s risk of addiction, a significant one being impulsivity.
What is the research to support personality as a risk factor for addiction
- Wan-Sen Yan 2013
- Bahlmann et al 2002
Outline Wan-Sen Yan 2013
Wan-Sen Yan 2013:
- found a relationship between personailty characteristics and addiction.
- They found that high levels of neuroticism and psychotisicm alongside low levels of extroversion were linked to internet addiction.
Outline Bahlmann et al 2002
Bahlmann et al 2002:
- interviewd 55 alcohol-dependent people of which 18 were diagonsed with antisocial personaility disorder (APD).
- For these 18 participants, the researchers found that APD developed 4 years before their alcohol dependency on average.
- This suggests that APD is indeed a personality-related risk factor for alcohol addiction.
Evaluate personality as a risk factor of addiction
- W - difficult to establish cause and effect when considering personality and addiction. Hard to conclusively say that certain personality traits cause addiction and not vice versa.
- W - reductionistic - The possession of certain traits does not automatically mean that addiction will occur. There are lots of other factors that can contribute to the formation of addiction
- S - Evidence suggests that there are personality traits that increase the likelihood of becoming an addict
Define family influences
not in reference to addiction
The capacity or power of the family to be a compelling force on or produce effects on the actions, behaviour, opinions of others.
Define family influence as a risk factor for addition.
How much an at-risk individual believes their parents approve of addictive substances or behaiours is an influential risk factor
What is the research to support family influence as a risk factor of addiction
- Livingston et al 2010
- Madras et al 2019
Outline Livingston et al 2010
Livingston et al 2010:
found that final-year high-schoolers who were allowed by their parents to drink alcohol at home were significantly more likely to drink excessively the following year at college.
Outline Madras et al 2019
Madras et al 2019:
found a strong positive correlation between parent’s use (abuse) of cannabis and their adolescent children’s use of cannabis, nicotine, alcohol and opiods.
It may be that adolescents observe their parents using a specific drug and model this behaviour.
Evaulate family influence as a risk factor of addiction
- D - Observation of a behaviour does not necessarily mean imitation. There are other mediating cognitive factors that also have an influence on motivation to perform that particular behaviour. For example, a family member smoking does not necessarily mean a child will also smoke, especially if other sources have warned against it (e.g. peers and educators).
- W - It is difficult to ascertain whether family influence is more or less important than other factors affecting the risk of addiction.
define peer pressure as a risk factor for addiction
The attitude of peers towards addictive substances/ behaviours becomes highly influential in increasing the risk of an addiction developing in adolescence
What is the research for peer pressure as risk factor for addiction
- Leshner 1998
- O’Connell et al 2009
